photography and the open road

19 May 2009

The Verizon MiFi 2200

Mobile internet access is important to me when I'm on the road. I've been using cellular data for years by tethering my phone to my laptop, but this year I was finally going to get an ExpressCard cellular modem – until Verizon took it to the next level with the MiFi.

The MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot is made by Novatel, but co-branded as a Verizon Wireless device. It's a cellular data “modem” that creates a WiFi hotspot you can use from any WiFi-enabled device, even several at a time. And it's small enough to fit in your pocket.

The device itself, which is about the size of a credit card but much thicker, has just one button. Press it to go. It uses a micro-USB jack for both power and to connect to a computer. It connects to Verizon's network via EV-DO, or the older 1xRTT data standard if EV-DO is unavailable, and then acts as a WiFi router for up to five devices at a time. Verizon claims four hours of battery life in active usage (and 40 hours of standby), but we'll see about that. The battery can be hot-swapped while the device is plugged into power (if you have an extra, which is not included), and you can use it beyond its battery life by keeping it plugged in. It will also, when tethered to a computer via USB, act as a regular cellular data modem, non-WiFi.

I received my MiFi today and immediately went about setting it up.

Background

If you travel, especially by car, you should be using Verizon Wireless. The only other provider worth considering is Sprint, which will let you data-roam onto Verizon. Don't even think about AT&T or T-Mobile; their coverage is a joke.

I've used Verizon's data service all over the country for years. I was using it when it was a 14.4k analog modem connection, then when it was 1xRTT (which seemed like a miracle at the time), and now with EV-DO. Right now, Verizon has EV-DO (so-called “3G data”) almost everywhere they have cellular coverage. It works in cities, in rural areas, in the desert, at the Grand Canyon, and so on. One notable place it doesn't work is most of Yellowstone National Park.

My current phone is a Motorola E-815, which is pretty old, but let's face it: Verizon's phone selection is pretty lame, and there just hasn't been anything interesting to replace it with. I've used this phone, tethered to my computer via Bluetooth, for mobile internet access for the past couple of years with great success, and other Motorola phones before it via USB.

Some reviewers don't give you a really good idea of how useful a device like this will be when traveling. Sometimes their idea of “wide coverage” is that it works in Manhattan and Queens. Sometimes they think like a business traveler who goes from one major city to another and just needs it to work in the hotel. (Some of these folks call themselves “road warriors,” which is sort of like the kid splashing around the pool comparing himself with Michael Phelps.) That's not me. In the coming months I will be using this device in some of the most rural areas of the country, and I will be reporting my experience.

One thing that gives me pause is that the device has no external antenna, nor any way to connect one. I always get phones with external antennas, and it does seem to help in fringe areas. A good 800Mhz antenna physically can't fit inside a small phone. We shall see how this works out.

Activation

Before you can actually use the MiFi you have to activate it with a one-time procedure that seems designed to be as frustrating as possible. You need only do this once for the device, after which it will work with any number of WiFi devices.

The activation process involves installing Verizon's connection management software on your computer. This software is also used, on Windows, when connecting to the internet in tethered (non-WiFi) mode, but of course it is not necessary to use any such software or drivers on a Mac. The instruction manual claims that you can also perform the one-time activation without installing any software on a Mac, but it doesn't reveal how, and though I tried, I was unable to figure it out. So I ended up installing the Verizon software, which is not merely an application – it installs all kinds of crap all over your computer, including kernel extensions. Thankfully, it has an “uninstall” feature you can use after doing the activation.

Once the software was installed and running, the activation was a process of one mysterious failure after another. I finally made it work using the following combination: (a) using an Administrator account, rather than my normal user account; (b) plugging the device directly into a USB port on the computer, rather than a hub; and (c) moving to another room in the house. I had to move to another room to get rid of the “could not connect” errors, despite the fact that, where I was sitting, my phone had a full signal, and despite the fact that after I got it activated, it connects just fine sitting right there.

Connection

As I said, you don't need Verizon's lame software for anything on the Mac after the initial activation, though you can use it if you want to. I don't see why you would. It's already gone from my computer. If you're stuck with Windows you will need to use it to connect in tethered mode (non-WiFi).

Basically, you turn on the device and it creates a WiFi hotspot. Printed on a sticker on the back of the device is the unique SSID and password you need to connect to it. You connect just like you would to any other hotspot, and presto, you're on the internet. That really is all there is to it.

If you'd like, you can connect to a web-based UI on the device that offers all the options of any regular WiFi router (default address is 192.168.1.1). You can change the SSID or password, turn off SSID broadcast, set up DHCP options, MAC address filtering, port forwarding, etc. It seems pretty complete. The default password for this is “admin,” which I had to dig through the PDF manual for.

Initial impression

I've had this thing for only a few hours as I write this, but I'm already excited by how cool it is. It should be much more useful than a data card in a laptop, for one big reason (aside from convenience): my iPod Touch now has mobile internet access.

Size comparison with iPod Touch

I don't have an iPhone because a phone on AT&T isn't very useful for a traveler. Instead, I have an iPod Touch, and I've been saying for a while that if they made an iPhone for Verizon, I'd buy one. That is no longer necessarily true. The MiFi, smaller than the iPod, gives my iPod mobile internet access just like an iPhone, but without AT&T. Verizon has made the iPhone irrelevant: just get an iPod Touch.

This is doubly important for me, because I write iPhone software. Being able to test away from home or another hotspot, without having to share off my laptop, is going to be nice. The device is smaller than the iPod, and just as easy to throw in a pocket.

From the computer, it just works, and seems to work exactly as well as using a phone. EV-DO speed is fine, so long as you don't expect it to be as fast as a home internet connection; by the numbers it sounds like it should be, but connection latency on cellular will ensure that it's not. I'm used to that, but it's worth noting.

Cost

Since you're reading this, you probably already know what it all costs, but in case you don't: the device itself is $100 with a two-year contract, or $270 with no contract at all. The data plan is $60/month, limited to 5GB per month of data. There is also a $40/month, 250MB plan; we'll call that the “idiot plan” and leave it at that. If you have no contract, you can also have no ongoing data plan at all, and just pay $15 per day for each day you actually use it – this one might be interesting to the occasional traveler.

Verizon's early termination fee to cancel a contract is $175, so unless you intend to use the day-by-day “plan”, there's no real point in not getting the contract. The price difference is almost exactly what you'll pay to cancel the contract early anyway.

Back in the day – up to a couple years ago – you could use Verizon's data service at will, with no data plan, with the connection counting against your normal voice minutes (meaning, unlimited nights and weekends). They let that go on for years, but once the unwashed masses began discovering cellular data, that was it, and they started requiring a data plan. In fact, if you tether from your phone, you now need the $60/month data plan and an extra $15/month thing to keep the connections from burning voice minutes. So it's actually cheaper now to use a dedicated device. Thanks, unwashed masses.

Long-Term Review

Having only had this for a few hours, I can't do a real, hands-on review yet. I will be using it heavily in the coming months, and I will report my findings right here, so stay tuned.

Thanks for the great review. I am considering swapping my Verizon phone for one of these. Is it a realistic expectation to use the MiFi with an iPod Touch for voice (Skype), email, and also occasionally tether a laptop? Anyone have an idea about how much data a five minute Skype call might consume?

I haven't tried using Skype with this combination -- I actually have a first-gen iPod Touch, which won't take a microphone, so I can't. However, it would be complicated, and you wouldn't be able to receive incoming calls easily, so in addition to the considerable bandwidth that would be consumed, I would have to recommend against trying this combination to replace a real phone.

well my broke ass is using cricket broadband for internet connection so i am thinkin of getting the mifi 2200, crickets broadband says it also has a 5gig limit as well which is so not true.. and even if so that does not count for VOIP or internet surfing. just download activity. so using skype my not matter as for the 5 gig limit.. i could be wrong but i hope not or that will defeat my purpose for the use of the mifi...

I am a Verizon customer using this device (Sprint also sells its own branded mifi from Novatel). I am a doctoral student studying in the Southwest but with friends and family in the midwest. Not only do I do research at coffee shops, bookstore cafes and other locations, but I drive across the country. Having the hotspot means I am not stuck with only the places that offer free wifi, or with places whose wifi access is password-free or not functioning.

I enjoy being able to use this in hotel rooms or when I stay with friends. I also like being able to share the connection with friends I'm hanging out with. For travel, I'd carry the MiFi, its USB cable and the AC Adaptor, so that's more than toting a device that's only a little bit wider than a credit card - but everything easily fits in my laptop bag, and a trip to a coffee shop needs only the MiFi (for wireless) or the MiFi and USB cable (when I'm using only mobile broadband).

Like the reviewer, I have a Mac. I had a hard time with a couple of the Verizon techs who knew nothing about Macs OR the Mifi product. One, in fact, told me that my iPod Touch was incompatible with the Mifi! The other had me doing things with the Mac's network settings to connect my iPod Touch- totally unnecessary. Finally I got a Mac person who also knew the product and was very helpful - I was up within 5 minutes. For me, the Verizon VZAccess software was simple to set up for both my previous broadband modem and for this one.

I live in a "dead zone" where my LG Voyager phone rarely gets 2 bars and doesn't always get EV service, despite my being 1.5 miles from two separate cell towers. The house itself also dampens service. MiFi speed is pretty good on the iPod but noticeably slower on my MacBook Pro. As far as range, I will test it more, but I noticed the signal got weak when the Mifi was set up in one room and the iPod Touch was several rooms away. This may be more a problem with the house, though.

In my opinion, this service does not render the iPhone "irrelevant" at this time. Verizon's pricing and its data plan limits, the Mifi's 4-hour battery life, the lack of car charger (hey, why not?) and the requirement of a microphone add-on for audio input make it much less convenient than an iPhone. (And aren't we still waiting for true SMS push and pull apps for the iPod Touch, too?).

Despite the limitations, though, the MiFi does what I need it to do and I like it. I only hope that if 3G becomes 4G, my two-year contract is honored with a free upgrade (somehow I doubt it'll be free).